The Hokage explained to the genin what the purpose of the exams were and that since there were so many of them, they needed to have a preliminary match before the next exam. He told them that if they were not able to continue, now was the time to leave. Sakura was telling Sasuke to forfeit because of the curse mark but Sasuke wasn't going to listen.

"Sakura leave him alone, it's his choice." Ko whispered to Sakura who instantly glared at her.

"But what if it acts up? What if he loses control?" Sakura frantically reasoned wishing someone would be on her side.

"He'll be fine." Ko reassured knowing Sasuke wasn't going to listen to Sakura anyway. She just wanted Sakura to shut up so she could listen to the proctor.

"How do you know?"

"He's an Uchiha, have some faith in him."

Ko looked around at the competition seeing who survived. All of the rookies, the sand ninja, Kabuto's team, Sound ninja and Mist ninja were the only ones here. She looked over at the mist ninja seeing the two girls glaring at her but she ignored them. Anko was the next to talk explained how the battles would be matched up at random from the screen on the wall behind the Jonin.

"Hm, I wonder who I'll be up against." Ko wondered.

She looked at the Jonin in front of her but her gaze fell on Orochimaru. Their eyes locked and she could see the hunger in his eyes as they shifted to Sasuke. Ko looked over at Sasuke also knowing what her father was thinking. Soon Sasuke will leave the village and be with them in the sound village. Soon, she will be back home, isolated from the world once again.

"I wish to resigned," the male mist ninja spoke up. Ko's eyes shifted to him noticing he had many wounds and his arm was completely bandaged.

"Kio, are you sure?" The one girl asked.

"Yeah, I don't have a lot of chakra left and that last enemy really did a number on my arm." He admitted gazing down at his injured arm.

"Is there anyone else?" The proctor questioned looking around the room.

Everyone was silent then their attention was at the board which started to choose the first match. They all watched the names blur on the screen as it was still scrambling the names. They began to slow down finally stopping on two names.

Ko Himura vs Rin Akimoto

"Heh I'm glad to get this over with." Ko said to her team cracking her knuckles.

All eyes were on Ko who looked over at her opponent. She didn't know which one was Rin but she guessed it was the one who was grinning. As she walked towards the center, everyone cleared away. As she walked, her orange curls bounced with each step. She looked at the rest of the team seeing the other girl with reddish hair that looked exactly like Rin but with shorter hair.

"Must be sisters." Ko concluded looking back at her opponent.

"Heh now we can see what you're made of." Sasuke said as he passed Ko who sent him a confident smirk. She was prepared for a fight. She only had a short time but she had been working more on her chakra control refining it while she was resting.

"Good luck!" Naruto and Sakura cheered with smiles.

Ko and Rin faced each other waiting for the match to begin. Rin's long orange hair was tied into pigtails that still cascaded down to her waist. She was a bit shorter than Ko but she knew Rin had some power to make up for her small stature. They both stood in a defensive position and Ko cracked her neck which made popping sounds. Rin still had a smile plastered on her face as she looked into Ko's eyes.

"Himura aye?" She spoke up with a very high-pitched calming voice. "Haven't heard that name in a while." Ko was already sick of hearing her talk; her voice sounded like a six year olds. "I thought they were all dead." Rin said making Ko frown.

"Guess not if I'm here." She replied regaining her composure.

Rin smirked, "you must be a half breed though. We lived near the compound and all the Himura had brown hair and red eyes. You only have the eyes but it's not that convincing so you must be a fraud." Her tone turned into a mocking one and started to side step making Ko follow in suit.

"You may begin." The proctor announced interrupting their conversation.

Rin didn't hesitate as she threw a few kunai towards Ko. She could see them easily and merely dodged the kunai grabbing a few in the air before making contact with her stomach and threw them back at Rin. She deflected them with the kunai she was about the throw but after they were deflected, someone grabbed her from behind.

Rin turned her head to see Ko behind her holding onto her arm. She looked over to where Ko was before seeing she was gone.

"So fast," Rin commented then struggled against her grip.

"Thanks," Ko said as she managed to lift Rin over her shoulder throwing her towards the wall. "I'm also pretty strong." She wouldn't admit it, but that move really hurt her injured shoulder.

Ko was hoping to see Rin put a dent in the wall, but she gracefully landed on her feet which stuck to the wall. She jumped flipping into the air leaving a small dent where her feet have been making Ko smirk with confidence. As Rin was still in mid air, she weaved hand signs finally finishing once her feet reached the ground.

"Water style: Raging waves!" Rin shouted as she brought her fingers to her lips.

Water started to come out of Rin's mouth heading towards Ko who stood perfectly calm as it approached her. She quickly made her own signs.

"Earth style, rock shield!" Ko shouted as she slammed her hands to the ground.

The ground began to shake as a slab of rock emerged quickly in front of Ko blocking the water from hurting her. The water kept coming which Ko didn't anticipate since the slab of earth was starting to crack.

"Alright, I can dodge this but I want to give her somewhat of a chance to hurt me." Ko thought as the earth began to crack more from the pressure.

Finally, the rock gave in and shattered. Ko was hit by the blast which sent her towards the wall. Once her body made contact, a loud bang was heard and dust filled the air. Rin's attack ceased once Ko hit the wall. She had a triumphant smirk plastered on her face as she watched Ko fall to the ground and started to get back up.

"Come on, let's see that kekkei genkai of yours." Rin teased walking towards her.

"You know, you sure do like the sound of your own voice." Ko mocked as she got to her feet. Ko quickly weaved hand signs as Rin got into a defensive position ready for Ko's next attack. "Earth style: Earth Shards!"

The ground began to shake once again as decent sized rocks started to lift from the ground as if defying gravity. They swarmed around Ko who extended her arms commanding the shards to fly towards Rin. The shards flew fast towards Rin piercing her limbs making blood splatter on the ground as she yelped in pain. Rin made hand signs once again but this time, Ko recognized them.

"W-water style: Hidden mist j-jutsu." She said trying to hide her pain.

The water around Ko started to rise like steam dispersing throughout the arena making it hard to see a few feet in front of you. Ko remained calm trying to listen for Rin but her steps were silent. Ko debated on using her eyes but she didn't want to reveal her trump card yet. Kunai whistled threw the air towards Ko who managed to dodge them but was caught by surprise when she felt pain in her side. Ko groaned in pain then heard Rin giggling and wondered why it always had to be her side.

"Ha I knew you were a fraud," Ko heard from the left of her. "It would've been pretty useful to use your eyes in this thick mist." She heard from behind her. "Now die." Rin's voice said from the front of Ko.

Just barely inches away from her heart, Ko could see Rin's kunai. Ko went to grab it before making contact but she caught it from the blade which slit her hand open. Ko hissed in pain but still held on tight knowing Rin was on the other end. She crouched down and kicked upwards making contact with Rin's chin. She heard Rin gasp and stumble backwards.

The mist cleared revealing Rin rising to her feet and Ko still crouched down. Ko quickly shot up from her position as Rin lunged forward with her arm tucked back ready for a punch. Ko moved to the left dodging her punch and gave her one in return in the stomach. Rin gasped but took a kunai out from her sleeve and stabbed Ko's thigh just inches away from the femoral artery. Ko's injured leg gave out so she knelt on the floor receiving a kick in the stomach. Ko landed on her back as Rin approached her once more.

"Come on Ko! You can beat this girl!" Naruto shouted from the balcony above Ko.

She stared blankly up at him seeing him grinning down at her. She looked over at Orochimaru wondering what he thought but of course, he wasn't even paying attention to her. He was too busy looking at the Hokage, Anko, or Sasuke...not her. Ko's blood began to boil as the feeling of rejection began to sink in. Rin went for another kick, but Ko grabbed her leg pulling it towards her which made Rin fall on her back.

Ko stood up and grabbed the collar of Rin's shirt lifting her up in the air. Ko dropped her but before her feet touched the ground, Ko kicked her in the stomach sending her flying across the room into the other wall creating a dent in the wall in the shape of Rin's body. Her body slowly peeled off the wall and she landed face first onto the ground. Ko glanced around her seeing her blood on the floor.

"I have to end this, I'm losing a lot of blood."

Rin quickly got up and ran towards Ko engaging her in taijutsu knowing Ko's injured leg will make it easier for her to win. Ko tried her best not to put weight on her injured leg but Rin was making it impossible as she threw punches and kicks her way. Ko tried to ignore the pain she felt throughout her body, but it was as if her body was screaming for her to stop. Ko sent chakra to her leg trying to numb the pain which did work.

"I have to act fast."

Ko dodged Rin's punch by grabbing her arm and punched her face twice then kneed her in the stomach. Rin gasped in pain as blood spewed from her mouth landing on either the floor or Ko's face. Ko released Rin from her grasp and kicked her side sending her to the left a few feet but she caught herself from falling. Ko made hand signs as Rin recovered trying to catch her breath.

"Fire style: Fireball jutsu!" Ko shouted as she brought her fingers to her mouth.

Rin's eyes widened when she saw the ball of fire going towards her. She tried to move but her leg gave out on her. Rin's scream erupted as the flames burned her left arm and leg. Once the ball disappeared, everyone saw Rin on the ground writhing in pain as she attempted to clutch her burned limbs but she was unable to move from the pain.

"The match is over, Ko Himura is the winner." The proctor announced followed by Sakura and Naruto's cheers.

Rin's teammates and sensei rushed down to her aid but first they glanced at Ko giving her a hateful glare. The medical team rushed in carefully lifting her onto the stretcher and carried her out. Ko turned on her heals and headed up the stairs to meet with her team.

"Ko that was amazing! I knew you could do it!" Naruto shouted with a goofy smile.

"Yeah!" Sakura agreed.

"You were holding back weren't you?" Sasuke questioned narrowing his eyes at her.

"What do you mean?" Ko asked innocently.

"When she was using her water jutsu, you knew it was going to break your rock but you let it hit you anyway."

"I had to give her some free shots Sasuke. It wouldn't be entertaining if I did all the hitting." Ko said with a smirk as she took her position between Sasuke and Sakura.

Everyone watched as the board started to choose the next contestants. Ko looked over at her teammates seeing Naruto shaking in anticipation and Sakura shaking in fear knowing she could be fighting a strong opponent.

Yoroi Akado vs Sasuke Uchiha

Ko watched as Sasuke faced his opponent but his curse mark started to sting again. She stepped forward and leaned against the railing wanting to see what Sasuke would do. Kakashi looked down at Ko seeing she didn't bother to wipe Rin's blood off of her face recalling Sasuke's words to her. He noticed it to while she was fighting; she was holding back. None of them saw Ko's true strength and that fight was only a taste of what she had to offer. He wasn't sure how to approach the situation, but he knew Ko had restraint.

Once the battle started, Yoroi threw shuriken towards Sasuke but they were easily deflected by Sasuke's kunai sending them back towards Yoroi who ducked. Sasuke fell to the ground in pain only to roll away dodging Yoroi's punch. He tripped Yoroi bringing him to the ground but Yoroi's hand grabbed Sasuke sucking out his chakra. Ko looked over at Orochimaru seeing his eyes glued to Sasuke's match unlike hers making anger rise through her. She gripped the railing until her knuckles turned white.

Yoroi brought his arm up only to slam it back down on Sasuke's chest then punched him. Sasuke recovered and attempted to rise again but was brought back down by Yoroi grabbing his face slamming him back down.

"You...my chakra.." Sasuke struggled to say as he weakly reached up to grab his opponent's wrist.

"So you finally noticed." His opponent chuckled.

Sasuke managed to kick Yoroi away despite his weakened state and got to his feet.

"Heh, you still have power left?" Yoroi questioned.

"Sasuke! Are you really an Uchiha?! Is that the best you can do?!" Naruto shouted.

Ko looked over at him seeing worry on his face for his teammate.

"He really has faith in his teammates. First me and now Sasuke. He sure is something." Ko thought.

"You don't have time for sightseeing! I'll suck up all his chakra! It's over!" Yoroi shouted as he ran towards Sasuke with his hand glowing.

Before he knew it, Sasuke appeared under him kicking him in the chin beginning his Lion's barrage. During his attack, the curse-mark started to spread.

"This match is over, the Jonin will step in soon."

Surprisingly, Sasuke managed to suppress the mark. Ko leaned forward with a face full of shock.

"No way, I must be seeing things. There's no way he managed to suppressed that power!" Ko thought in shock as she looked over at her Father who also had the same expression.

Sasuke managed to finish his attack kicking Yoroi to the ground with one kick, then another once he was almost on the ground.

"Lion's Barrage!" Sasuke shouted as he kicked Yoroi the second time.

Yoroi stayed on the ground as did Sasuke. Yoroi was unable to move but Sasuke managed to get to his knees.

"I'm stopping the fight here and thus...The winner is Sasuke Uchiha!"

Sasuke was about to fall back but was caught by Kakashi.

"Sasuke! What a lame way to win! You're all beat up, idiot!" Naruto shouted.

Ko looked back over at Orochimaru seeing a sadistic smile on his lips, even licking his upper lip hunger for Sasuke's power. Ko looked back over at Sasuke glaring at his back, jealous of how her father watched his entire match but didn't even glance at hers. A surge of pain erupted from Ko's injured leg making her cry out in pain. The genin around her noticed her discomfort as did Kakashi. She had forgotten about her leg being too focused on Sasuke's match.

The medics came for Sasuke but Kakashi informed them that he would take care of him. He got Sasuke to his feet. Kakashi made a clone and sent it up to Ko.

"You're coming with us too Ko. You need someone to look at that leg. You've lost a lot of blood so far." He said as he looked at her blood stained pant leg and the puddle of blood surrounding her foot.

Ko scoffed but complied and followed him along with Sasuke. The clone helped support Ko who now couldn't put pressure on it without pain shooting through her body. The Kakashi clone dropped Ko off at the infirmary where she was taken quickly by the medics. She was helped onto a bed where they cut her pants turning them into shorts revealing her wound and various scars. They inspected the wound with a hint of worry on their face.

"We need to stitch this up quickly," one said to the other.

Another medic came in with an IV and a bag filled with blood. Ko's vision started to blur and began to feel weak; the blood loss was getting to her. She fell back onto the bed with a thud, all attention was on her.

"Miss Himura!" One exclaimed.

"I feel...weak." Ko whispered.

"You lost a lot of blood. You should've came to us as soon as your match was over." Another scolded.

Ko looked up at the ceiling trying to blink the blurriness away but it seemed like it was getting worse. While she was stuck in her trance, she felt a sharp pain in her leg. She lifted her head a bit seeing they were stitching up her wound while the others were checking her body for more injuries. She kept fading in and out of consciousness feeling confused when one second, she was being surrounded by doctors and another where the room was completely empty.

She managed to stay awake this time feeling stronger than when she arrived. Ko looked around the white room seeing that she was alone and thankfully she didn't feel pain. She moved sat up and reached for the other end of the blanket lifting it up revealing her stitched up leg. The cut was bigger than she originally thought. It was on her outer thigh stretching from her knee almost to her hip. She tried to recall the fight where she received the injury but she only remembered the pain not the extent of the wound. Thanks to her blocking the pain with her chakra, she forgot all about it and she was too focused on Sasuke's fight to heal herself.

Her door was open and the curtain was pulled to the side allowing her to see the hall way. She heard people walking towards her door and she watched as doctors passed by carrying someone in a stretcher. All she could see was the silver hair sticking up then they were gone.

"Was that...Kabuto?" Ko gasped to herself.

Ko laid back down on the bed wondering when she would be able to leave. She found the remote on the side of her bed and pressed the button to call in the nurse. She heard footsteps coming down the hall and a nurse popped her head in the door.

"Oh good you're awake." She said as she walked forward. "How are you feeling?"

"Stronger than before."

"Good, we had to stitch up your leg and healed the rest of your wounds." The nurse stared to take out her IV and unhook her off of their monitors.

"Is the preliminaries over?" Ko questioned.

"Uh I don't believe so."

"Am I well enough to watch the rest?"

"I don't recommend walking, it could ruin the stitches."

"Get my sensei, he'll carry me."

"Uh alright, let me get these out of your arm."

The nurse got the needles out of her arm and left the room shortly. Before she knew it, Kakashi appeared in her room.

"Someone told me you wanted to see the rest of the preliminaries?" He casually asked.

"Yeah but I'm not allowed to walk."

"Ah so you want me to carry you?"

"Yes,"

"Hmmm alright,"

Kakashi lifted Ko onto his back and walked back to the arena. He made a one handed sign making them appear right next to Naruto and Sakura. Ko took notice that they were both covered in bruises and dirt showing that they already had their match.

"Ko you're alright!" Naruto shouted excitedly.

"Why is Kakashi-sensei carrying you?" Sakura questioned.

"I could reopen my wound if I walk. What did I miss?"

"My match of course! I was against Kiba and I totally kicked his ass!" Naruto said with his arms behind his head.

"You miss mine too. It ended in a tie but I believe I've grown from it." Sakura informed her with a confident look.

As they filled Ko in about the other matches, Ko noticed one of the Sand Ninja standing near them instead of with his team. He noticed her stare and made eye contact with her holding her stare.

"Why is he over here?" Ko questioned interrupting them.

"Uh actually, we don't know." Sakura said.

"Hm so what happened to Kabuto? I thought I saw him when I was in the infirmary."

"Oh that girl you fought, he fought her sister. He got his ass kicked by her." Naruto chuckled as he recalled the match.

"How bad?"

"She was really fast, the match was over after a few punches and jutsus. Kinda reminded me of Zabuza." Sakura answered.

Everyone watched the screen again to see who was fighting next. There were only four people left and Choji looked terrified.

Gaara vs Rock Lee

When she read the names, Ko knew Lee was going to lose. It was easy to tell that Gaara was a jinchuuriki; a powerful one at that. His killing intent sent shivers down her spine, his stare could kill someone. She knew without ninjutsu, Lee was sure to lose. She looked over at Gaara's brother seeing the fear in his eyes, the same with his sister and sensei. He wasn't someone to be messed with and Lee will be lucky if he comes out of this alive.

Ko watched the battle unfold as Lee tried to kick through Gaara's sand as Gaara remained calm. Lee took of the training weights around his legs creating a large crater when they hit the ground. Lee sped off so fast not even Gaara could keep up and eventually was able to kick him. Lee landed a few hits on Gaara making his defense fall but he retaliated knocked Lee back. Lee knew how strong Gaara was and used a forbidden jutsu making him stronger and faster.

Lee knocked Gaara into the ground resulting in him falling to the ground also. Gaara took this chance to send his sand over towards Lee crushing his left arm and leg. Lee screamed in agony as his limbs were crushed by the sand then passed out. Gai jumped down dispersing the sand away from Lee but he got up ready to fight again, still asleep. Lee was rushed to the infirmary while the last contestants jumped into the arena.

Dosu Kinuta vs Choji Akimichi

The match didn't last long. Dosu took one hit and Choji was out. The winners were called to the arena once again facing the Jonin and Hokage. Ko was resting on Naruto's back while Kakashi waited on the platform along with Sakura.

"To all of you who won the right to compete in the third round test in the chuunin exam, Congratulations!"

The Hokage explained the final test. Anko walked down the line with a box where everyone had to pick a piece of paper from it. Ko reached her arm in pulling out a paper with the number nine. They all read it out loud as Ibiki wrote them down. Ko read the paper he held out seeing she was paired with Rin's sister, Airi. Ko looked over at her and she gave Ko a sadistic smile along with a glare.

"Hopefully, she'll be a challenge."

Edited April 14, 2020